Selected podcast episodes on psychology, economics, science, history and culture

Month: July 2019

How I Built This with Guy Raz | 22 July 2019 | 0h 46m | Listen Later | iTunes
Backgrounds the inspiration, process and persistence behind Sir James Dyson’s invention of a bagless vacuum cleaner. Bundled with lessons for inventors and entrepreneurs.

Spectator Books | 17 July 2019 | 0h 37m | Listen Later | iTunes
Interview with Ben MacIntyre about his book The Spy and the Traitor about double-agent Oleg Gordievsky. Discusses his rise, downfall, and daring escape from Moscow — and how he lives now and what he thinks of the situation between Russia and the West these days.

The Forum | 18 July 2019 | 0h 39m | Listen Later | iTunes
Tells the story of Antonie van Leeuwenhoek who was the first to observe bacteria and other microscopic lifeforms that couldn’t be seen by the naked eye. He is now regarded as the father of microbiology and yet he had neither scientific training nor university education, and spent his life first as a linen merchant and then a civil servant in a small Dutch city.

Invest Like the Best | 16 July 2019 | 1h 10m | Listen Later | iTunes
Interview with Jane McGonigal who designs alternate reality games — games that are designed to improve real lives and solve real problems. She is the author of Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World and is the inventor and co-founder of SuperBetter, a game that has helped nearly a million players tackle real-life health challenges such as depression, anxiety, chronic pain, and traumatic brain injury. Covers how to design useful games, how games affect us and our kids, and what the future might hold.

Rationally Speaking | 21 January 2019 | 0h 47m | Listen Later | iTunes
Discussion testing the case for charter schools with Neerav Kingsland, who helped rebuild New Orleans’ public school system after Hurricane Katrina, converting it into America’s first nearly-100% charter school system. Includes responses to the main arguments against charter schools and what is known about how parents choose schools for their children.

EconTalk | 22 July 2019 | 1h 21m | Listen Later | iTunes
Interview with photographer, author, and former Wall St. trader Chris Arnade about his book, Dignity: Seeking Respect in Back Row America. Arnade quit his Wall Street job and criss-crossed America photographing and getting to know the addicted and homeless who struggle to find work and struggle to survive. Discusses what Arnade learned about Americans and himself.